Windows Phone 7 Series unveiled
With Apple's iPhone rampant and Google's Android OS gaining popularity, it was becoming pretty obvious that Microsoft would have to do something drastic to reinvent itself in the smartphone Operating System market.آ That reinvention was unveiled yesterday at the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona - Does it do what the company needs to make the Windows Mobile (now known as the Windows Phone) brand popular again?
First the look and feel. The phones are really secondary here, and we want to focus on the interface. The design and layout of 7 Series' UI (internally called Metro) is really quite original, utilizing what one of the designers (Albert Shum, formerly of Nike) calls an "authentically digital" and "chromeless" experience. What does that mean? Well we can tell you what it doesn't mean -- no shaded icons, no faux 3D or drop shadows, no busy backgrounds (no backgrounds at all), and very little visual flair besides clean typography and transition animations. The whole look is strangely reminiscent of a terminal display (maybe Microsoft is recalling its DOS roots here) -- almost Tron-like in its primary color simplicity. To us, it's rather exciting. This OS looks nothing like anything else on the market, and we think that's to its advantage. Admittedly, we could stand for a little more information available within single views, and we have yet to see how the phone will handle things like notifications, but the design of the interface is definitely in a class of its own. Here's a few takeaways on what it's like to use (and some video)...
Engadget have spent some hands-on time with Windows Phone 7 Series and also share their broader thoughts in an interesting editorial.
Elsewhere, Hardware Zone and HEXUS also have news on the Windows Phone 7 launch.
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